Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev participated in a ceremony in which the Akademik Tryoshnikov research vessel was transferred to the balance of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet). Once the vessel leaves the shipyard, Russia will resume its studies of the Pacific sector of the Antarctic, which were suspended in the late 1980s.

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Remarks by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev:

Colleagues and friends,

Today marks a long-awaited landmark for our shipbuilding industry and our country: the first Russian-built research ship, the Akademik Tryoshnikov, is almost ready to sail. A large amount of money – 6 billion roubles – was spent to design and build it. The ship has the state-of-the-art equipment that will be used to effectively carry out the tasks assigned to it. It has a displacement of 17,000 tonnes and is about 134 metres long. As far as I understand, it can carry 60 crew members and 80 members of the Russian Antarctic Expedition. It has labs for oceanographic research, atmospheric and ice studies and other research activities.

Importantly, the ship is equipped with award-winning mobile labs that can be combined in various ways to study the ocean at different locations in order to achieve the goals of specific research programmes. The research vessel is named after Academician Alexei Tryoshnikov who devoted his life to studying the Arctic and the Antarctic and participated in dozens of polar expeditions. It's a fitting name, because it will be used to carry on the work of the honoured academician.

The ship will play a leading role in the new transport scheme of the Russian Antarctic Expedition. The research will expand to the South Pole region, including the Pacific sector of the Antarctic. The vessel will also be used to deliver supplies to Russia's Bellingshausen Station in the Antarctic. I'm not sure if we are quite ready for this now, but as I understand there are plans to reopen the Russkaya Station that was shut down in 1989. This is important.

Also important is the fact that significant budget allocations will go to support the activities of the Akademik Tryoshnikov. In 2012, over 111 million roubles will be allocated; in 2013 more than 150 million; and in 2014, 200 million roubles. The total investment is almost 0.5 billion roubles, which is not bad for this kind of project.

I hope that the ship will take part in addressing global challenges faced by Russia in the Arctic, the Antarctic and in the oceans in general. Many countries are interested in the Arctic and the Antarctic now. Gone are the days when the Arctic and the Antarctic were of interest only to major powers or states located close to the poles. The situation has turned around, and Russia should take its rightful place in this research, because, if you will, this goes beyond scientific interest and has become an issue of geopolitical presence and, as such, affects the future of our country.

We are striving toward an ambitious goal to break new ground in the shipbuilding industry. Of course, we will need to ensure good quality, high labour productivity and an innovative technological level of our products. It's a tall order to fill, but there's no way around it. Despite the difficulties that our manufacturing industry, including the shipbuilding, faced in the 1990s and lately, we still have a lot of potential in the field of design and production, but most importantly, we have great human potential. The potential is still there and we have everything necessary to maintain it. To do so, we should focus on training personnel, preserve traditions and look toward the future.

New ships – and all new transport facilities, for that matter – should be designed using not only the conventional drafting equipment, but the latest CAD software as well. This is the only way for our shipbuilding industry to survive. I hope that this is what will happen.

I would like to thank all those who took part in the design and the construction of the scientific research vessel Akademik Tryoshnikov and wish it fair seas and a tailwind. Thank you. Congratulations, everyone.

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The Akademik Tryoshnikov is the first research vessel in the last 20 years built by the Admiralty Shipyards to order by Roshydromet. The ship will be used to resume annual maintenance of the Bellingshausen Station in the Russian Antarctic, and to reopen the Russkaya Station, which was closed in 1989. This station is the only location in the world where researchers can monitor various natural processes occurring across the space of several thousand kilometers. It also plays an important role in supporting the GLONASS system.

In accordance with the Russian strategy for developing the Antarctic until 2020, the ship is designed to conduct field research, supply the Russian Antarctic stations and field bases with logistics, fuel and food and rotate personnel working for the Russian Antarctic polar expedition.

The Akademik Tryoshnikov is a versatile piece of equipment that can be used as a passenger and a research vessel, a cargo ship, a tanker or a helicopter carrier.